Islands Like Glass Towers
by Organization VI
Summary: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. Some Birth by Sleep spoilers.
1. A Small World

Islands Like Glass Towers

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Man, it has been awhile since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? I must be a real sucker for prequel fics, because here's another one! This one just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sort of playing this fic by ear, so we'll see how it goes. I'll also admit, I've always been interested as to what Destiny Islands culture would be like.

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

* * *

Taro could not really call himself a smart man. Educated enough, certainly, but working at the islands' fishery wasn't a job that required outstanding intelligence, and he didn't feel that was a problem. So not smart, perhaps, but he _was_ very observant. And he could tell pretty easily what Emi was thinking the moment Lana and her baby stepped out onto the patio.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Emi!" Lana said, carefully balancing the infant in one arm and carrying a plate of fruit in the other, which she set down on the buffet table. "This little one's been a bit fussy today! That hot wind we've been getting from the south, I'm sure."

Taro watched that wistful smile jump onto his wife's face as she admired their neighbors' newest addition. It was that sort of look that suggested an imagination taking off into distant times, of a friendly sort of jealousy. "Oooh, look at how big he's gotten!" Emi cooed, leaning in closer. "Only five months old...they grow up so fast!"

"I'm sure, sometimes it seems like magic!" Lana laughed, and cradled the five-month old with both arms now. He whined a bit, and let out a tiny toddler yawn.

Emi was fast joined by a few other women at the party, all crowding around to get a look. Not that this surprised Taro at all...on a world this small, a new arrival always became the center of attention. He couldn't stop thinking about that look in Emi's eyes.

His thoughts were interrupted by a slap on the shoulder from the infant's father: a built, slightly scruffy man with short silver hair. "Taro! How's fishing these days?"

"Just fine, Hoku," he replied. "Good crop of Yellowtail this year." He nodded back towards the crowd around Lana. "So I take it this is why we haven't seen you two out and about lately?"

"Nail on the head," Hoku laughed. "And I thought the lumber yard was hard work! Lana and I are still trying to catch up on our sleep; he's up so much at night."

Taro just offered a sympathetic shake of his head. "Just wait until he's a teenager...then he'll _really_ give you some grief."

Hoku laughed at that, too. The two men were silent for a moment, letting the noise of the party do the speaking for them. The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon, painting the ocean, the beach, their homes and the patio in shades of deep purple and pink. There was just enough breeze to keep the heat comfortable, and it carried with it the smell of cooking fish and ocean salt. It was perfect, as it always was perfect.

Well, close to perfect.

"You know, I'm thinking, when I get some free time..." Hoku started, looking down into his drink as if embarrassed to admit this. "I'm thinking about taking some of the spare wood we've got over to the kids' island and building them a treehouse, or a bridge. Something that he'd like to play on someday. As soon as he's old enough to go."

It seemed a little strange to hear from work-focused Hoku, but it was not a bad idea. "I remember when _we_ used to play there," Taro sighed. "And we didn't have any bridges or platforms except for the shack. You're gonna spoil that kid before he even starts school!"

Hoku took a sip of his drink and laughed. "Maybe, but don't try and tell me you won't do worse when you have some!"

Taro turned his gaze back towards the ocean, lost in his thoughts. "We were gonna wait, Hoku. Make sure we're really ready for that responsibility."

Hoku didn't quite pick up that he was thinking over more than believing what he said. "That's what you said four years ago, Taro. How much more responsibility do you need to save up?" he joked.

To be honest, Taro wasn't sure. It wasn't like they hadn't discussed it before. It just...seemed safer to wait. "It's not like we _have_ to have kids, you know."

"No, you don't..." Hoku seemed to catch that quiet thoughtfulness for a moment as well. He looked toward Lana, who was finally done talking to the other women and sat down to eat. He seemed tired, but content. "But you know, Taro...this world of ours, it's a world for the children. This world is small, but the children make it bigger." The slightly-embarrassed grin returned to his face. "It's funny, 'cause you don't realize it when you _are_ a child."

Of course, that was all true. The school was as large and as well-maintained as the mayor's house. The shops sold sweets cheaper than anything else. Doors were always left unlocked, the summer breaks were long, and the streets were broad and well-lit. It was hard to realize as a kid, but impossible to ignore as an adult. And perhaps that was part of the reason why he and Emi taking that next step seemed so daunting. "It's changed you a bit, Hoku."

Hoku's thoughtful moment ended, and he returned to his usual laid-back self. "Heh, perhaps you're right. It's not so bad, Taro." He winked. "There's still a _little_ bit of time for just Lana and me, no matter what they say."

At that, Taro turned his attention back toward Emi. In the last light of the day, she seemed all the more beautiful, haloed by red and gold. She had moved on to talking to another one of their friends, but he could still see that hint of a smile on her face. She was thinking, and he was thinking, and the sun had set on a small world made bigger by the children in it.

"Say, Hoku...you know if Kenta made it here tonight?"

"Think so; Mari is here..." Hoku turned back to his friend with a raised eyebrow. "What do you need from Kenta?"

Taro just smiled and gave him a small shrug. "Just curious to see how business is this time of year."

More to come later! Again, please don't spoil in any comments! Thanks!


	2. To the South Cliffs

**Islands Like Glass Towers**

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Aaaand here's chapter two, getting into more cultural ideas I've had for the Islands. It's fun!

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

* * *

After nearly five years of marriage, Emi had gotten used to the routine of their day. While routine was inevitable for every couple, it was an especially strong fixture on the islands. Not a _bad _routine by any means; it was rare for any day here to be a bad one, but it was still routine nonetheless. Taro was always out of the house before the sun was up...fishing was best in the early morning, after all. He'd be back by mid-afternoon, which meant they had the rest of the evening to themselves. Still, she never saw him for breakfast.

So She was more than a little surprised to discover Taro holding a cup of coffee at the dining room table when she herself wandered down long after sunrise. He just sat here, his black hair messy and spiky as always, sipping his coffee as if he'd been waiting for her all morning.

"Honey, what are you still doing here?" she asked, voice full of concern. "Is something wrong?"

Taro seemed to find this amusing for some reason. "As a matter of fact, there _is _something wrong, Emi."

All manner of terrible things ran through Emi's mind, each crazier than the last. A storm had ripped up the nets and boats, or he'd gotten in trouble with the head fisherman, or there'd been some sort of accident on the way there. She didn't dare venture any of those ideas, although their run through her mind was more than obvious in her expression. "...What is it?"

His smile took on a mischievous tint. "The problem is that you're not dressed to go to the South Cliffs Hotel yet. And how are we supposed to get there on time if you're not ready?"

Emi blinked, crossed her arms and raised on eyebrow at her husband. He _had_ to be putting her on. "The South Cliffs Hotel? No really, Taro, why are you home? What sort of trouble do you get into?"

"Nothing, unless me telling Koji that I was taking a few days off is troublesome! And he sounded fine with it to me." There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, but Emi could tell that he _was_ being serious about it. Playful, but serious. "I thought you would like it?"

Of course, any spouse would _love_ a trip to the South Cliff Hotel, for a number of reasons. And a hint of happy surprise began to replace the worried expression, although that didn't stop her from still being skeptical. "Come on, no one just takes a trip down there because they _feel_ like it."

_"Most_ people don't," Taro said, setting his coffee down so that he could stand and stretch. "But I'm not most people. I think we could use the vacation."

Emi stepped closer to him, arms unfolded now, trying to see what he was thinking behind those sky-blue eyes. "Maybe, but can we afford it?"

Taro hooked an arm around her waist and landed a kiss on her cheek. "Like I said last week...good crop of Yellowtail this year."

Emi knew that no crop of Yellowtail could be good enough to cover the cost of a stay at the South Cliffs Hotel, but that kiss was enough to convince her that this surprise was a good idea anyway. The concern-turned-excitement spilled over into a laugh and a smile. So much for any form of routine today. "Then I guess I better go get dressed, hadn't I?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

While all the worlds felt this in one way or another, Destiny Islands was in particular a very small and closed world. The people that lived there had _always_ lived there...they were born on the islands, and died on the islands. No one ever left, because why would anyone _want_ to leave a world like this?

Well...sometimes, very rarely, someone did leave.

But the fact of the matter was that there was no easy way to leave, which also meant that the islands received very few visitors. Not so rare as islanders themselves leaving and never coming back, but rare enough. No one ever quite knew where these few visitors came from - there was no way to fly out, and no one had ever safely taken a boat to another landmass and back - but it didn't matter too much, since visitors rarely stayed long. And visitors never seemed to cause much trouble, and often left the islanders gifts or other strange objects not found anywhere on their world. So why not make their stay as comfortable as possible?

That was the reason for the South Cliffs Hotel...a small hotel and resort on the southernmost edge of the big island, set against the only cliffside found on any of the islands. If Destiny Islands was a paradise, the hotel was the one place that tried to step up the luxury of it even more. The best food the islands could produce, rooms that all faced the ocean at sunset (all six of them), an expansive garden, a spa, and plenty of small encloves on the property for people to enjoy themselves. Visitors to the islands stayed there for free...after all, the Hotel was intended for them, and it wasn't like they weren't repaid in other ways. But for residents, it was the most expensive place on the islands. This made it reserved only for special occasions, and was therefore popular among newlyweds or the richest high school graduates. It was also the only place on all the islands where you probably _wouldn't _see any kids.

So Emi had a pretty good idea of why they were here, although was less certain as to _why_ they were here. But whatever Taro was thinking, they were here at the very least to relax and enjoy themselves, and that was good enough for her.

They arrived there following a half day's bike ride...the cliffs made it very difficult to dock boats, and no cars existed on the islands. No sooner had the couple parked their bikes near the entrance when they were greeted by Kenta, the hotel's owner. He was a tall, talkative redhead...more learned than one would first think.

"Taro! Emi! Wonderful to see you two again!" he declared.

"Thanks for having us, Kenta." Taro shifted the bag on his shoulder, and joked, "must not be having too much business to let us back in, huh?"

"You haven't seen some of the high school seniors! I'll be praying for your guys' business when graduation rolls around!" Kenta replied. All in good fun, naturally...you couldn't run this sort of hotel and _not_ be a people person, and Kenta was very good at managing his place given its limited use.

"Have you had any visitors lately?" Emi asked, always curious to hear about strangers to the islands.

Kenta shrugged. "There was this young man...Jim Hawkins, I think a few months back. Didn't stay here more than a night or two, though."

That was the problem with visitors...they were here and gone so fast sometimes it seemed like they had never been there at all. Usually the only indication they were there at all were some of the interesting things they left behind for trades. "Did he leave you anything interesting?"

"Actually, there was this one strange thing I should...oh what am I saying, there's plenty of time for that!" Kenta declared, throwing his hands in the air. "And here you two are with all your bags still! Come on inside, Rosa will get you set up in your room."

"Thanks, Kenta," Taro said. Kenta could get a little carried away talking about his guests, but there was no harm in that. He led the two inside the hotel and through the lobby, which contained some of the various trinkets that Kenta had collected over the years. While most of the books obtained went to the islands' library, stuff that had no other real place to be stayed here, and there was enough to keep a curious individual busy for hours.

They were met by Rosa, a pretty blonde married to the islands' doctor, and sometimes employed at the hotel...basically on a need-to-work basis. She smiled broadly at them. "I should be making you two dinner tonight. Room three, right?"

"Right. And don't worry about signing in, that's covered." Taro and Emi followed them through the lobby and down the wooden walkways to the available rooms. The place looked as pristine and relaxing as it was the first time they came here.

"It's lovely to see you two again!" Rosa said as they reached the third room, a large wooden house crawling with ivy and flowers and decorated with wood and stone sculptures. She held the door open for them. "Anything special in mind planned for this visit?"

Emi glanced towards her husband...smiling as always, but like her, he wore his emotions on his sleeve. He was happy about _some_thing, although as to what exactly she could just guess. Emi wasn't that worried...she'd get it out of him before the day was through. She always did.

"I think we do."


	3. Under the Endless Sky

Since the two had gotten there in the afternoon, there wasn't as much time to enjoy all the luxuries Kenta's hotel had to offer, but they were able to start with the basics. There was dinner cooked for them by Rosa (easily one of the best chefs on the islands), and some time in the private hot tub afterwards...just enough for fingertips to get a little wrinkly.

As the day wound down into evening, the couple found themselves lying on their backs out on the grass beside the hot tub, a bowl of fruit and desserts between them. The ocean sat before them, pristine purple and blue beneath the setting sun. The wind was soft and the earth beneath them was warm. For having lived on the islands their entire lives, it was still nice to be reminded of just how _beautiful_ it all was.

Taro sighed with contentment, and reached his hand into the bowl of food only to pull out a familiar star-shaped fruit. He grinned, and learned over to show it to his wife. "Well Emi, look what I found here."

Emi giggled, reaching up to trail her fingers along his. "You used to not believe in the papou fruit legend, you know."

"That's because it's just silly," Taro joked. He held the fruit over their heads as if he were grasping at a star in the sky. "Who'd ever believe a fruit could shape destinies, anyway?"

"And yet, you were the one to offer first!"

"You're going to remind me of that every chance you can, aren't you?" Taro said in a voice that showed he didn't mind this at all. He tore off a piece of the fruit for himself, some of the juice getting sticky on his fingers, and handed the rest over to Emi. "Here you go."

Emi took the offered papou and examined it as if trying to discern all its secrets. "So, Taro..._why_ did you book us this vacation?"

"I needed a reason?"

"No, but you _do_ have one."

Taro smiled up at the stars. He may have been good about reading Emi, but he wasn't so skilled at hiding his intentions. "I saw the way you were looking at Lana and her baby the other day at the party."

Emi didn't respond.

Taro turned his head a little so that he could see her reaction, the grass tickling the sides of his face. "You want a child, too."

She turned the fruit over in her hand, looking almost embarrassed. "We did say we were going to wait until we were ready."

"Do you think we're ready?"

"I..." Emi paused for a long time, searching for her answer. "I think _I'm_ ready."

"Then that's why we're here," Taro said, and slid up so that he was sitting on the grass and looking down at her. His smile was warm and broad. "Because I am, too."

Emi's sense of embarrassment seemed to vanish at that statement, and she laughed. "Taro! You _seriously_ booked us four days here based on a look I gave?"

He leaned further over and kissed her on the forehead. "I was right, wasn't I?"

Emi hooked one arm around his neck, her brown eyes dancing with all manner of thoughts. Once again, he felt had a pretty good idea of what those thoughts were. "Maybe so...but what if you aren't about us getting a baby in the end?"

"Then it's still time well spent, I'd say," Taro replied. He took the piece of papou fruit still in one hand and popped it into his mouth. "And I _am_ usually right."

Emi grinned up at him, holding the remaining fruit before him as if it were bait. "_Especially_ about papou fruit legends." With that, she took a bite out of the fruit herself.

She had him there, but she also had him with her smile, her kindness, that quiet mystery that had gotten him so interested in her when they'd first met. She _was_ beautiful...older than that moment years ago when he'd first realized it, but still beautiful. And she was his, and he was hers. He leaned in even closer until their noses were touching, strands of dark hair falling into his face. "We've got four days to see if I'm right on this one, don't we?"

"Then you should stop wasting our time," she whispered back, wrapped both arms around him completely and kissed him hard.

And so they stayed out on the grass the rest of the night, not caring about the wet on the grass or the cool night air one bit, underneath a sky that was endless, but still not big enough for the two of them.


	4. News Spreads Quickly

A few weeks later, and the routine was one again in motion. And for Emi, part of that routine included visiting Lana once a week for lunch. Since Emi had been gone at the South Cliff Hotel for a few days, and then both found themselves busy with other matters afterwards, they had missed their usual meetings. So it was time for a bit of catching up.

However, Emi already knew this lunch would go a little differently.

Emi had barely even finished knocking on her neighbor's door when Lana answered...a platinum blonde chatterbox, she had always been the more talkative of the two, even when they were little kids. Lana offered her best 'come on in' grin; her arms free of toddler for once. "Emi, you're back, finally! Come in, let's get some lunch!"

"Glad to," Emi replied, and stepped inside. Lana's place had certainly gotten messier in the last few months...clothes and soft toys scattered about, blankets covering most of the wood furniture, and dust gathering on the shelves. It made Emi wonder a bit, although she knew the reason for the clutter.

And Lana mentioned as such as they headed for the kitchen. "I just put Riku down for a nap, so we should be fine for lunch. He's crawling all over the place now, the little explorer!"

It was clear that Emi was eager to tell her _some_thing, although just what wasn't as clear. Emi found a seat, while her friend found some sandwiches and iced tea for the two of them.

"Now Emi, you abso_lute_ly have to tell me...how was your guys' vacation? What did you get to do? What's Kenta collected in the past few years? You relaxed a lot, right? I'm sure, that husband of yours is almost as much of a workaholic as mine is!"

Emi expected the barrage of questions from Lana...a trait she still kept from their high school days. She just smiled through it all. "It was..._very_ relaxing. Taro and I had a wonderful time."

"Aaaand?" Lana prompted, ignoring her sandwich for now. "You know I want to hear details!"

Oh this was just too good. Emi kept that enigmatic smile in place, sipping at her tea. "Kenta showed us some of the new things he traded, Rosa made a _lot_ of lovely food, we did some swimming, Taro slept _in_ for once...and, you know, just had fun together."

"A lot of fun, from the look on your face!" Lana teased. "I'm sure, sometimes I really don't know what Taro is thinking but I wish Hoku would do it, too!"

Emi said nothing, but smiled and took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Oh fine, take your time with the details!" Lana laughed it off. "We've got time, I'm sure. And while I'm on it...just where were you last week, hmmm?"

"I'm sorry, Lana. I actually went to go see Cecil last week."

Lana's face dropped into a more worried expression. Rosa's husband, Cecil, was the only doctor on the islands. Considering how rare it was to get ill here, he got about as much work as Rosa did.

"Why, what's wrong? Did you get sick?"

"No." Emi paused, drawing out that thought for what seemed a long time, contemplating everything that she meant. "I'm pregnant."

It took a little bit for Lana's reaction to come, but when it did, it had all the excitement that Emi expected of her.

"Emi? _Seriously?!"_ She stood up suddenly, hands at her face, and her tone nearly reached that level that Emi remembered from high school. "Ohhhh, oh oh Emi this is so exciting! _Congratulations_, oh wow I'm so excited for you! Ohh I need to lend you some of the books I used and – you know I thought you and Taro were going to wait on it?!"

Her friend's enthusiasm was infectious, and Emi couldn't help laugher as her stream of gushing came to a halt with that question. "Well, we _did_ wait, so we were ready now."

Lana shook her head. "Taro can be so sneaky sometimes, I'm sure!" She clapped her hands together, caught back up in the thrill of it. "But still, _wow_, you two're finally having a baby! Ohh...Emi, and they'll be around Riku's age! They could be friends!"

"I hope so!" Emi replied. Seeing Lana with her baby _was_ part of what had made them decide to have one. "Lana, I'm excited, and...I'm a little bit nervous, too." She said the last part slowly.

"Don't you worry, Emi, I'll be with you every step of the way...so much that you'll be sick of me, I'm sure! We _are_ friends after all! And if Taro gives you even one minute of grief, I'll straighten him out!"

"I knew I could count on you," Emi said in a tone both joking and in all seriousness. "But you're still taking care of Riku, so don't worry too much about me. And as for Taro...considering it was half _his_ idea, I'm sure he's telling everyone he can!"

Taro was indeed telling people at the fishery the good news..._almost_ everyone, anyway.

As soon as Doctor Cecil had confirmed that Emi was pregnant, Taro had nearly run off right then to let Hoku and his other close friends know. His happiness was about equal to Emi's...she just did a slightly better job of internalizing it. So by the end of Taro's last Monday at work, Hoku, Kenta, most of the other fishermen and the deliverymen knew it. And as always happened on the islands, news spread fairly quickly to other homes.

So Taro wasn't that surprised that the fishery's maintenance man knew about it, and decided to let him know so upon running into him in the fishery's tackle shop.

"Taro! I heard your wife's expecting now. Congrats!" he exclaimed rather loudly, setting down his box of tools on the back desk.

Taro managed to strain out a smile, and did his best to make it friendly. Taro was an agreeable person; he liked most everyone he knew. That is, except for the islands' maintenance man. If there was any one person on all of Destiny Islands that made Taro angry, it was this man.

"...Thanks, Jecht," he replied, placing his pole back on his designated shelf. "We're both really excited."

"Yeah? I know how that goes!" He grinned back. "Happy to be addin' to the family now, huh?"

Taro worked on replacing his nets and line as quickly as possible...at this point, he just wanted to get home, and wasn't that fond with talking to Jecht one-on-one. It stretched all the way back to high school, when Jecht was the best ball player on the islands...maybe in all the Islands' history. This skill left him with a bit of an ego, and this carried on into adulthood. There were no sport teams for adults; the fields and courts for sports were given exclusively to the children. Regardless, Taro still remembered how Jecht's athletic prowess netted him much adoration from his peers...especially the girls. Back then, Jecht was quite happy to play more than just the ball field, and in his teen years he'd broken quite a few girls' hearts.

Including Emi's.

"We've been very happy these past few years, and I'm sure we'll be happy with the baby, too," Taro said, his tone friendly but with a bit of gentle reminder in it.

"Right," Jecht replied. "Ha-ha, you gonna teach 'em how to fish?" He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Me, _my_ boy's gonna be a ball player, like his old man! The best in the school!"

That's right, Jecht's wife was also pregnant. Although she only had about two or three months left to go. Taro had thought about what he would teach his son or daughter once they got older, but he hadn't thought that far or that large yet.

He managed another smile. "Of course."

Taro picked up the rest of his things and headed for the door. However, he didn't make it all the way out before Jecht caught his ear again. "Don't stress it too hard, ya hear? I tell ya, if you're not careful, havin' a kid can really stress you out! Believe me, I know!" He laughed as if remembering some personal anecdote.

"Whatever you say, Jecht." And Taro turned and left.


	5. Missing in the Morning

**Islands Like Glass Towers**

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Oops, it's been awhile since I've posted the next few chapters of this! And I completely forgot to put the headers on the previous two chapters, argh. I haven't forgotten about his story, promise!

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

Taro told himself not to worry about Jecht's words, and for a long time, he didn't. The initial excitement wore off as the weeks turned into one, two, three months. Emi got sick sometimes, but he was always there to help her feel better. And whenever he wasn't, Lana was often around to step in. Emi did what she could to stay healthy and in high spirits, and that in turn made Taro feel better. He and Hoku set to work on their off time setting up the upstairs spare room so that it could eventually become the baby's room. That meant several hours out of the week spent sanding, repairing and painting.

But then, as the weeks ticked on, Emi began to act...strangely.

It was hardly noticeable at first. Just brief pauses in their conversation, as if she'd stopped to think about something. A few moments where she spontaneously burst into tears. Days here and there where she'd skip a meal without thinking about it. Emi had always been shy about expressing how she felt, but Taro had always been able to read her. But now, it was getting harder and harder to guess what she was thinking. And that in turn worried Taro a little.

However, that nagging worry was nothing compared to what Taro experienced one early Tuesday morning.

As usual, he woke up an hour and a half before sunrise so that he could get to work on time. As routine dictated, he usually left his sleeping wife a kiss on the forehead, changed clothes, went downstairs for a cup of coffee and a quick muffin, then grabbed his gear and headed for the fishery. But this morning, when he woke up, Emi wasn't there.

Taro was confused at first...then figured she must have gotten up to see the restroom. He stretched, shuffled out of bed and walked over to the adjoining bathroom. "Emi, you in there?" he asked, knocking softly on the door.

There was no answer. He swung the door halfway open; the bathroom was empty. Taro frowned...Emi almost never got up as early as he did. And if she did, she stayed in bed.

Slipping on his house shoes, he padded over to the spare room down the hall. Maybe she'd suddenly gotten a late-night spark of inspiration on arranging the room? That had happened at odd times.

"Emi?"

But the spare room was empty, save for a pile of finished wood meant to eventually be constructed into a child's bed. The single window was closed.

_Don't worry. She's somewhere in the house,_ Taro told himself, biting his lip. He walked downstairs, a bit quicker this time. The kitchen was dark, empty and soundless, except for the wall clock's ticking.

"Emi?"

No answer. He jogged to the living room, and it was just as dark and empty. No one in the dining room, or in the storage closet.

Taro felt something start to build up in the pit of his stomach...a knot, tightening, pulling on his heartstrings. He tried to squash it down, to tell himself it was okay, but the worry just bubbled back up. It was four in the morning, and Emi wasn't in the house.

Wearing little more than his robe and slippers, Taro rushed out of the house. Outside, the night was warm and humid, full of the sounds of crickets and nighttime birds. Emi was nowhere in the garden, or on the path. He looked across the street toward Hoku and Lana's house, but all of their lights were off. The whole street was dark and silent; asleep until morning.

"Emi!"

Panic. Taro had never felt it before, but he still recognized it. He didn't know how, or why, but Emi was gone, and his mind overflowed with a writhing mass of terrible thoughts. She was hurt, she was scared, someone had taken her, she'd vanished, she was gone and he'd never see the love of his life again...

He started to run, down the path and out into the street, searching for any sign of her. His heart pounded in his throat, his voice became more cracked and desperate every time he called her name. He didn't care if he woke up the whole street; he just _had_ to find her.

"Emi, where are you?"

A thought occurred to him, and he changed direction and headed east, towards the shoreline. Was her boat gone? If not, maybe she was still on the main island. But if it was...

Taro swallowed down the lump in his throat and ran faster, the panic starting to overwhelm him. Just the thought, the _suggestion_ of someone he loved leaving the islands made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't begin to fathom such a thing happening. Not to Emi, not now...

He reached the shoreline, with its salt-smell and the sound of the crashing waves filling his ears. The black expanse of ocean suddenly seemed larger than ever before. The sand crunched under his feet and into his slippers as he continued to run. "Emi! EMI!"

"Taro?"

He nearly fell apart at the knees at the quiet sound of her voice. There she was...sitting just before the docks, close to the water's lapping edge. She was dressed in her robe as well, her brown hair waving in the ocean breeze. She smiled at him as if he'd just shown up late for a lunch meeting. "Taro!"

"Emi! What..." He ran up to her and stopped short, trying to think of the proper thing to say. Relief at discovering she was okay mixed with that lingering sense of panic. His hands were still shaking. "...What are you _doing_ here?"

Emi blinked, and slid over to face him. "Taro, I'm sorry! I just suddenly wanted to go out; I couldn't sleep, and I guess I just lost track of time."

"You scared me to _death!_"

Emi's face dropped into a worried frown. "Oh, honey...please, don't be scared. Look, I'm fine, and the baby's fine, okay?" She reached her hand up and tugged on his so that he'd sit next to her. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Taro collapsed onto the sand as soon as she tugged on his hand, and wrapped his arms around her, letting out a shuddering breath. Her body was warm, and her hair smelled like salt and shampoo and their bedsheets. She hesitated, more our of surprise than anything, and embraced him as well. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. Are you okay?"

"I-I thought that something had...had happened to you," he choked, hating feeling this vulnerable but refusing to let go of her. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to go out? At four in the morning, no less!"

"I'm so sorry, Taro! I couldn't sleep, and I thought I'd be back before you got up." She looked genuinely sorry that she had scared him, and he believed her, but...it still felt like she wasn't telling him something.

Finally, he let go and sat down in the sand next to her. "What in the world made you want to come out here this early?"

Emi stared out at the ocean, dark and endless. It seemed less black now, and Taro felt the rhythm of the waves like a heartbeat in the sand. "I had some strange dreams. They..." She stopped. "Just felt like I wanted to be outside."

"Strange dreams?"

"Yeah." Emi didn't elaborate. She scooted a little closer and leaned her head on her husband's shoulder. "It's really beautiful out this morning, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Taro agreed...it was beautiful. He often didn't notice it. And he didn't notice it enough, but Emi...she was beautiful, too. He wanted the rest of the panic to fade away so he could just focus on the relief of her being here, being okay. There was a small part of him that was afraid...afraid of the thought of anyone he loved leaving and not coming back.

He'd heard stories about islanders that had done such things.

Emi entwined her fingers in his, and he squeezed back tightly. "I'm so sorry I scared you. I should have thought about that. I promise, I won't do it again, okay?" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

That seemed to be enough for Taro, and he let out a sigh. Perhaps it was just the idea of impending fatherhood that was stressing him out more than usual. They _did_ both have a lot on their minds. "Okay." He managed to smile, and took her hand so as to help her up. "I guess I overreacted."

She stood, and stretched. "No Taro, it was my fault. ...Oh no, I'm going to make you late for work, aren't I?" Emi's calm suddenly switched into worry for his sake. "Hurry, let's get back so you won't get in trouble!"

Taro had completely forgotten about work in his panic, but considering he had always been on time before, he wasn't too worried about it. "I'll be fine, Emi." He felt a little amused as to how she was suddenly the more anxious one, but he let her drag him along towards the town. Still both in their robes, they walked back home, with the panic finally subsiding and relief taking over completely.

And yet...Taro couldn't help but wonder what it was she could have been dreaming about.


	6. A Voice in the Darkness

Islands Like Glass Towers

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Man, it has been awhile since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? I must be a real sucker for prequel fics, because here's another one! This one just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sort of playing this fic by ear, so we'll see how it goes. I'll also admit, I've always been interested as to what Destiny Islands culture would be like.

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

Emi did keep her promise...she didn't wander out of the house in the middle of the night again.

But that didn't stop her from having strange dreams. It wasn't every night, or even every other night, but it was often enough to notice. She wouldn't have thought much about them at all if they hadn't seemed to be...connected, somehow. And while a part of her wanted to tell Taro, the rest of her was just afraid she'd worry him more. And he had enough on his mind.

Still, she didn't know if this sort of thing was normal or not. But she had one person she could find out from. So on one of her weekly visits to Lana's place, she decided to ask.

The two friends had moved outdoors for lunch...it was summer now, and summers made the indoors stuffy and stifling. Outside, they could at least catch more of the ocean breeze, even if the sun was stronger. Lana's house seemed to get messier the older her child got, and she kept apologizing for the clutter. Emi was now four months along...enough to be showing just a little bit, but not enough for it to be obvious to anyone that didn't know.

Riku, now ten months old, was crawling in practically any area that didn't present a huge obstacle to him...and even then sometimes he made an attempt to get around it. Emi picked him up as he made another circle around their little luncheon table out on the patio. "Goodness, you're going to be walking real soon, aren't you?"

The infant just smiled back at her, as if in confirmation. Emi wasn't sure why, but she liked holding him like this. She supposed this sort of practice would come in handy when she had her own.

"He's definitely been making attempts lately. Such a fast learner!" Lana sighed. That learning was obviously taking its toll on her...she looked tired, and her voice wasn't as boisterous as usual. Still, Lana watched her son laugh with complete pride and affection.

Emi set him back down, where he resumed his explorations of the patio. She watched him for a little while, picking at the crumbs left on her plate, before deciding to go ahead and ask.

"Say, Lana...when you were pregnant with Riku, did you ever..." She stopped, thought, and started again. "Did you ever have strange things happen to you? Or...feel strange?"

Lana gave him a confused glance, making Emi start to worry that perhaps she shouldn't have asked after all. But Lana quickly picked up an answer, as if she's just remembered something. "Well, I'll tell you what, I started sleeping weird! Stayed up past midnight often; slept horribly late. I'm sure, it drove Hoku nuts sometimes!" she laughed. "Then you get the aches and pains, and the weird food cravings, too. But don't worry Emi, that's perfectly normal."

Emi nodded. She'd had some of that, but not too severely thusfar. "Did you ever...have strange dreams?"

Lana's smile actually dropped a little here. "Well, you know...I _did_ have a couple of bad nightmares. Not the usual kind." Emi waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. That in itself seemed unusual...Lana always loved to give details on any sort of story; almost as much as she loved receiving them. "I hope you haven't been having them, Emi? Stress can mess up your dreams sometimes, you know."

"Well...no, it's not exactly nightmares," Emi sighed, looking out towards the ocean. Why did this suddenly feel so hard to explain? "More like...it's the same dream different nights, or lots of separate ones that are all connected together."

"What do you mean?"

Emi wasn't sure if Lana would understand, and so hesitated again. But then again, if anyone would understand, Lana would. "I keep dreaming about this...tower, in the darkness. Sometimes it seems really small and I'm looking down at it, but most of the time, it's big and looming over me. It's made all out of glass, lit up from the inside, but it's dim and I can't see it well. Sometimes it seems like it's part of others...like islands. It feels like an ocean, all black. A glass tower island in a sea of darkness."

Lana said nothing, so Emi found herself rushing out the rest of it. "But the tower's not finished...it's missing all these pieces, and it's not tall enough. But every night that I have that dream, more of the glass tower is complete. Like...someone is building this tower, in my sleep, and I'm watching them. Or maybe _I'm_ building it and just don't remember it. And I _have_ to make sure it gets finished, but at the same time, I don't know what will happen when I do, and that...scares me, I guess." She paused, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lana...you must think I sound totally crazy!"

For the first time in a long time, Lana looked like she couldn't think of what to say. The awkward silence between them was interrupted by the resident little toddler making demanding noises as he attempted to climb up his mother's leg. "Well, that's strangely specific for a dream, I'm sure!" Lana said, and picked up Riku. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Emi! They're just dreams after all."

Emi smiled. "I guess you're right. It just seemed strange was all."

And while she dismissed it to Lana, she couldn't seem to let go of that nervousness in the back of her mind. If Lana didn't know what it was, then who would? Did this mean something was wrong with her? Or worse...something wrong with her baby?

She shook out the thought quickly. No...that couldn't be it. She'd been healthy and careful the past few months. On her occasional visits to Doctor Cecil's office, he said she was coming along fine. As a general rule on the Islands, mothers very rarely had any pregnancy complications. It was the same reason people very rarely got sick...life was just too good here for those sorts of problems to arise. This? It was just dreams, after all. Not hurting anybody.

Meanwhile, Riku crawled to the edge of the patio, stood up by supporting himself on the guard rail, and looked out towards the ocean.

That night, snuggled beneath the covers and with Taro's arm around her, she dreamed it again.

The glass tower rose like an island out of an ocean of darkness, seemingly taller. There were more pieces of glass filled in now; enough for someone to stand on. But there was still lots of it left empty.

Emi could make no discernable pattern out of the glass...it was fragmented and colorless. But still, there was a picture beginning to take shape. She just...couldn't see it.

_Hello!_

A voice, in the darkness. Except it wasn't really a voice at all. It was just a word; a thought in space.

Startled, she called back, "Who are you?"

_Me._

That didn't really answer her question. "What is this tower for?"

No reply.

"Is it yours?"

Still no reply.

"What will happen when it's finished?"

The darkness remained silent. It was beginning to make her nervous. Had the presence left? She tried one more time. "What do you want?"

_Hearts._

Emi could find nothing in the word of need, desire, greed, envy, or general malicious intent. Like everything else, it was just a thought in space, a point on an invisible plane that did little else than prove the plane existed. She didn't know what to say...she didn't even really understand what the not-voice meant. "Why?"

_Light!_

In response, the dim light from within the glass tower seemed to glow a little brighter. Emi reached out to touch it, and just before she did, the tower and the entire dream vanished into the darkness.

When she awoke the next morning, she didn't remember the conversation at all, and didn't mention any of her dreams to Taro. But her heart was certainly affected by it.


	7. Stories and Coconuts

Islands Like Glass Towers

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: This chapter has a few more hints to some stuff mentioned in BBS!

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

The weeks rolled on into the fifth month since Taro and Emi had stayed at the South Cliff Hotel, and Taro and Hoku had taken time out of their busy schedules to visit the kids' island. Not to play on, of course...but instead to do a bit of construction. True to his word, Hoku had saved some spare lumber and brought it over to the kids' island to build a bridge. Specifically, the two of them were working on a bridge from the seaside shack out to the tiny island where a paopu tree grew. Kids could wade out and use a ladder to climb up there now, but Hoku liked the idea of providing a path there that didn't get the kids completely wet.

With the primary supports laid out (two extremely long boards, which had been a pain to take out), all that was left to do was nail in the walking planks, which was easier but tedious. Toiling under the summer sun was exhausting, and by noon the two men were both covered in sweat.

"Hey, Taro...how 'bout we do a quick lunch break, huh? Think you can snag us some coconuts?" Hoku asked, wiping his brow.

Taro grinned. "Yeah, sure, hold on."

Taro may not have had the strength or athletic prowess that Hoku and Jecht possessed, but at least he was adept at climbing trees. He located the nearest coconut tree, scaled up the trunk (had these trees always seemed this flimsy?) yanked two coconuts free and tossed them to the ground. Once safely landed, he picked them up and threw them again, this time to Hoku. The silver-haired carpenter caught one and barely caught the other.

"Nice catch," Taro teased.

"Yeah, sure, leave the hard work to me," Hoku replied. He set to work cracking open the outer green shell of the coconuts.

Taro returned, and sat down on the portion of the bridge they had finished so far. It felt pretty sturdy. "Sure hope your son appreciates all this."

"Yours better like it too!" Hoku's last word came out as a grunt as he cracked open the green shells. "By the way, have you thought about what you're gonna name the baby?"

"Well..." He and Emi _had_ discussed it, a little bit. But they couldn't seem to decide on a name. "I think maybe we're waiting to see if it's a boy or a girl."

"You should probably think up a few ideas before then!" Hoku said. "Otherwise, you're gonna draw a total blank when the baby's born, and man is that ever embarrassing!"

"Oh? And how'd you two decide on 'Riku'?"

Hoku fished for some spare nails, and pretended to be concentrating real hard on driving it into the coconut. "Welllll, Lana suggested it when I drew a blank and couldn't think of anything."

Taro couldn't help but chuckle at that. A moment of silence drifted between them as Hoku hammered a nail into one coconut, attempting to split it in half. Taro figured he and Emi should discuss a name for the baby again, and yet...

"Emi always seems...to be out these days," Taro said, not so much telling Hoku as he was just saying it to let it out. "It's a little strange. I always thought that being pregnant would make her a little more reclusive, you know? But now, it seems like she's always...going somewhere, or seeing someone." His brow furrowed. "I don't even remember her going out this much in high school."

"She's just visiting friends, isn't she?" Hoku asked. He managed to crack open the first coconut, and handed it off to Taro before starting on his own. "You know her and Lana. Can't keep 'em apart!"

Taro pulled open the coconut, revealing two halves half-full of white flesh and clearish milk. It smelled exceptionally good. "I don't mind her going to see friends. I'm glad she's having fun. I just...can't shake the feeling that she's hiding something." Hoku stopped his hammering to glance up at him. "I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about it."

Hoku looked a little more concerned. "What? You mean like she's hurt or something? Why would she hide that?"

"No no, I don't think she's hurt." Taro hesitated, and used the pause to take a sip out of half of his coconut. "I guess...I just worry that maybe she's not happy. I thought we should have a baby because it's what we both really wanted. But what if she's not as happy as I thought she would be? I feel like it's harder for me to tell now."

Hoku finally forced his own coconut open, and took the opportunity to take a drink. "If you're not sure, you could just _ask_ her."

While it seemed like the obvious answer, Taro was hesitant to do so. Because what if she said she _wasn't_ happy? There wouldn't be anything they could do about it now, and Taro would have to live with that. He remained silent for a moment, causing his friend a bit of concern. "Hey...don't worry about it, okay? She's doing stuff with her friends, I'm sure she's fine. If she wasn't, she'd probably tell Lana at the very least. And Lana's had nothing but good things to say about Emi."

That eased Taro's worries a little...at least on the front that she might be unhappy. But why couldn't he shake the feeling of her hiding something from him? "I guess 'cause this is all new territory for us. I wasn't expecting to be this...scared about it." It was a difficult thing to admit.

"Yeah, I know," Hoku said in a manner that suggested he agreed, but also didn't want to admit it. That was enough for Taro, for now.

The two men looked up from their lunch break at the sound of laughter and shouting. A couple of the kids had come back from the other side of the island to spar and play ball. Taro couldn't help but smile. It was nice to be reminded of _why_ they were suffering through this worry...to see their child have grand adventures on the beach, to have friends, to have long summers and happy memories. To make this small world a little bit bigger.

"Can't wait to bring Riku out here," Hoku said in a slightly quieter tone. He always seemed to embarrass himself when he started talking about his son. "I hope he likes it here."

Taro turned back to his friend. "With the way you're already spoiling him, I imagine he will!"

Hoku grinned, and took another sip out of his coconut. "Lana says he's learning so much already...like he just wants to see and hear everything. A little explorer!" He gazed out towards the horizon. "When he's old enough I should tell him that story my dad told me. I think he'd like that sorta thing...I did. You remember that one? About the kid who flew off to explore other worlds?"

Taro did remember, and it showed on his face. He focused his attention on the coconut, as if trying not to think about something. "Yeah, my mother told me that one, too."

Unlike Hoku, though, Taro didn't like it as much. He'd been fascinated as a kid, but as he grew up, it just ended up frightening him. It was before his time...when _his_ parents were young children. A young, well-educated man of the Islands had gotten restless, and promised to leave and explore other worlds. And then one night, he _did_ leave...and never returned. No trace of him left, and no clue as to how he got away. Just vanished, as if he'd never existed in the first place.

Taro wanted to be excited about such a prospect, but all he could think about was the young man's parents...losing their son without even a chance to say goodbye. Or the other children, told that they were too boring; too meaningless to bother with. All he could think about was if that young man had been his father, or his _son_, and never seeing him again...

"You really want to tell him that story?" he asked.

"Oh right, I forgot, you don't like that one," Hoku said, and paused to take a bite out of the now-empty coconut. "_I_ always thought it was a neat mystery. How anyone could get off the Islands without some kinda outside help!"

"It's not like he came back to tell anyone how," Taro pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah." Another bite, and Hoku stopped to stretch. "Come on, lighten up, it's not like that'll ever happen again. That's what makes it interesting."

At least Hoku didn't mind such an idea. Taro sighed, and shrugged. "I'm sure Riku'll love any story you tell him."

One of the kids on the other side of the beach yelled out, drawing the two mens' attention. They were still in the midst of an intense ball game. Taro smiled at them again. He told himself, as best he could, to listen to Hoku...not worry about distant stories of people vanishing, and not worry about Emi. It was just stress from all these new things they had to deal with; anxieties that accompanied any pregnancy. It _had_ to be.

"Come on Taro, let's get this bridge finished already."

The kids' voices stayed with him as Taro finished off his coconuts, found his hammer and set back to work.


	8. First Birthday

Islands Like Glass Towers

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Lots of little kids being adorable here. XD

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

_Happy birthday to you!  
Happy birthday to you!  
Happy birthday, dear Ri-ku!  
Happy birthday to you!_

With that, Lana blew out the single candle on the lemon and cream cake from behind her one-year-old. The other women at the party cheered and clapped, which in turn caused little Riku to smile and clap, too. "Yaaay, doesn't that look yummy, Riku?" Lana cooed. Riku reached out a chubby hand to see for himself, getting a bit of cream on his fingers. "Now hold on, let's cut a slice or two before you dig in."

She set the toddler down, where he just tried to stand up a little taller and get a better look at that cake. He was walking now, and therefore was trying to walk _every_where, but wasn't talking beyond simple sounds yet. Not that it was needed...the whole living room dissolved into happy chatter from all the friends, family, young mothers and mothers-to-be. Most of the kids present were around Riku's age or younger...Keena's son Wakka, who had taken to carrying around a blue ball, and Jecht's son Tidus, who was only two months old. As such, the party had that noisy-smelly air that always accompanied very young children, but no one seemed to care.

Emi, especially, didn't mind a bit. At six months along, she was now definitely showing, and of course that always lead to a lot of compliments from her friends. She never said much in response, but she was just happy to be around her friends...to be around people in general, and especially to be around the children.

Which was why she was now seated close to the floor with her kids, keeping an eye on them as Lana worked at slicing the birthday cake. The living room table was crowded with presents for the birthday boy, saved for after the cake. Luckily the kids here were too young to go nuts over waiting for the presents yet.

One of those, little red-headed Wakka, waddled over to Emi with his blue ball. He presented it to Emi as if he'd just discovered it today. "Ball!"

Emi smiled back at him. "Yes Wakka, it's lovely! Do you know any games with it?"

He didn't, but he did recognize round things. He tucked his ball under one arm, considered Emi for a moment, then pointed to her stomach. "Ball!"

She burst out laughing. Keena jumped up with a look of complete parental embarrassment, and scooped up her son. "Wakka, no! That's _not_ a ball. Miss Emi's going to have a baby."

"Ohhh." Wakka sounded almost disappointed.

Emi just shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Keena! I thought it was funny."

Keena sighed and let Wakka down again. "Why don't you show your ball to the other kids, huh Wakka?"

"S'mine..." Wakka said quietly, but toddled off to see different people anyway.

"Isn't she looking terrific?" Lana piped up as she walked over to give her a slice of cake. Riku was not far behind her, considering she was still the one with the cake. "I'm sure, I don't think I've seen anyone handle a first pregnancy as well as you have!"

"Now that's an exaggeration and you know it, Lana."

"Maybe so, but I still say you've taken everything so well," Lana said, and handed her a slice of cake. "A wonder you and Taro didn't go for it sooner!"

Riku tugged intently on his mother's pant leg, his gaze fixed on that last piece of cake she was still holding. "I think the birthday boy wants a little cake, too," Emi joked.

"Yeees, he's earned it, getting to be one year old so fast!" Lana cooed, and handed him his slice. Riku eagerly dug into the frosting with his fingers, getting cream all over his nose and chin. He was making a mess, but he looked perfectly happy.

"Never seen a baby get there faster," Emi agreed. It was funny how time seemed to be passing now...both racing along and moving slowly. It seemed like only yesterday that she had seen this baby as a five-month old and wished to have one of her own, but it also felt like she'd been pregnant forever. The initial excitement had long since turned into a persistent, building anticipation...with something else just underneath it.

"I'm sure, it certainly wasn't easy..." Lana sighed, and started to wipe off her son's face with a napkin before he could wander off. "And knowing _my_ luck, you will have it easy when yours is born!"

Emi laughed nervously. "I don't know about that, Lana."

"Honestly Emi, you don't give yourself enough credit. Hoshi, Nora!" Lana called out to two of the other women at the party who had wandered over...Hoshi, who was expecting a second child, and Nora, one of the Islands' schoolteachers. "Look, don't you think Emi looks great?"

The two nodded. "Oh yes, definitely," Hoshi said.

Emi's face went a little red...leave it to Lana to embarrass her like this. Not that she was angry at her for it; Lana just liked to share everything. "Thank you. Oh, Nora, I wanted to ask you...are you going to be needing any help at the school when the new school year starts?"

Nora, a petite woman with soft grayish-brown hair, thought about this for a moment. "Well, we can usually use an extra hand during recesses, but sometimes the little kids can get pretty rowdy. Are you sure you'd want to this close to the baby being born? It might be a lot of extra stress."

Emi was expecting that answer, but watching the youngest kids play with each other, she was ready to disregard any worries. "I'm sure. I want to see how the kids are playing so I'll know a few things for my own."

"Well...if you're sure!" While Nora still looked a little skeptical, she was always the sort to appreciate volunteers.

"Thanks, Nora, I'm looking forward to it."

-

That night, Emi got into bed before Taro did, stretching out with a contented smile. The day had been pretty busy, but attending the birthday party just made her think about having one for her own someday soon.

Taro stepped out of the adjoining bathroom in his pajamas, his black hair damp from his shower, to discover his wife already in bed. He smiled down at her. "You have fun at the party today?"

"Mm-hmm," she sighed, folding her arms behind her head. "You should see how fast all the kids are growing."

Taro climbed in next to her, and pulled one arm over her. "I can see how fast _one_ kid is growing..." he teased.

"Oh, is that so?" She was about rebuff him, when she felt a sharp movement inside her, causing her to laugh. "You made him kick!"

"Really?" Taro immediately lifted up her nightshirt and pressed his ear against her stomach, feeling for anything else. The baby gave another kick, causing Taro to break out in an ear-to-ear smile. Emi felt like she was glowing.

For a moment, they stayed that way, with Taro rubbing his hand across her large belly, and Emi stroking his hair. In that moment, Emi considered coming out and telling him about the glass tower. She hadn't yet, but right now she felt really good, and Taro seemed more relaxed. She could practically feel the bond stretching between the three of them, between her fingers and his and those of their unborn child. Maybe he should know...

"Emi...are you happy?" he asked suddenly.

The question caught her off-guard, but she could still give an honest answer. "Of course."

He smiled, relaxing against her form. "I'm glad."

Emi leaned back against the pillow. Maybe...she shouldn't tell him after all. It'd just worry him, and after the stress she'd caused him before with her vanishing in the middle of the night, she didn't want to worry him again. She could take care of it herself...it wasn't hurting anyone. It wasn't like she could really _make_ herself stop dreaming, anyway.

"You can always ask how I'm feeling, Taro," she reassured him. "You don't have to try and guess every time."

"Right." Taro moved up closer, and left her a kiss on the cheek. "What do you feel like now?"

"I feel..." She felt accomplished, warm and satisfied, sort of consistently uncomfortable with the extra weight on her body, secretive, scared, happy in anticipation, and other things indescribable. She trailed one hand along the edge of his collar. "I feel like having a little fun with you."

As expected, Taro's first reaction was one of worry. "Are you sure you can?"

"I think so." She traced her finger up his jawline.

Apparently it didn't take long to win him over after all. He drew in closer to her, wrapping his arms around her as best he could in their slightly awkward position, and smiled. "Well...if you insist."


	9. A Coming Storm

**Islands Like Glass Towers**

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Kind of a transition chapter...beware cliffhangers!

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

* * *

The long summer had come to an end, and the kids of Destiny Islands returned to school. With the change in schedules came a change in the weather...the heat dropped a little, but stranger than that, dark clouds started to gather on the horizon. Storms happened, and the Islanders knew how to prepare for them, but they were still rare. And for those thick, heavy clouds to just sit on the horizon, barely moving...it was unusual.

Still, work went on, even on days off. Taro and Hoku had since finished the bridge on the kids' island, and it was already in use by the older children. But there was still one more task left to complete...fixing up the upstairs room so that it would be a suitable bedroom for the new arrival.

For the most part, the large stuff was done...they had a crib handed down from Emi's parents, stuffed with soft blankets. There was a desk that would remain out of use until the baby had grown enough to need it. Like all the rooms in the house, and indeed like practically all homes on the Islands, it was built with odd angles, giving it a slightly haphazard but homely look. Now all that was left were a few furnishings.

Hoku hauled up a couple of throw rugs striped green and blue, and tossed them onto the ground next to Taro, who was busy assembling a mobile. The mobile was made up of colorful tropical fish, carved out of wood. "Emi trusts you to pick out a good rug?" Hoku asked.

"Yes, she's said anything with green is fine," he replied. Families usually didn't buy pink or blue baby things anyway, since there was no way of knowing beforehand whether an unborn baby was a boy or a girl. He set aside the mobile for a moment to pull out a round rug with green stripes, and stretched it out on the floor near the crib.

"Lucky...Lana _always_ got final say on what we put in Riku's room," Hoku said, leaning against the doorway. "Made everything in the room blue!"

"Emi picked out a few things, but mostly she's been down at the school," Taro mused, and finished hooking up the last fish on the mobile. He held it up, and smiled at the colorful fish dangling from the top bar. "Sometimes she's gone even longer than I am."

"Hard-working woman right up until the big day, huh?" Hoku crossed his arms and glanced out the window. The kids' island was visible from the bedroom view, bright in the afternoon sun.

"Yeah..." Taro shook his head. "I keep telling her she's working too hard, but she just shrugs it off."

Taro had been telling himself not to worry too much about Emi, and it had been working, mostly. He still couldn't really figure out what she was thinking, but she said she was happy, so he believed her. His thoughts were interrupted by a brief knock downstairs, and then the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Hoku and Taro turned to see Kenta come up, with something tucked under his arm.

"Hey Hoku, Taro! Hope you don't mind me dropping by," he said with a friendly wave.

Taro went and hung the mobile up by the ceiling. "Not at all, Kenta. We're close to finishing."

"I heard so from Rosa, so I thought I'd stop by with a little something." He presented the object under his arm, which was a small wooden mask, decorated with leaves and feathers. "Got this one awhile back and it's been sitting in the library since then...thought it might be something you'd like to decorate the room with."

Taro took the mask and examined it. It was a little spooky-looking, but not frightening...the sort of thing that a little kid would like to play with. He smiled at Kenta. "It's great, Kenta! Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

Kenta shrugged. "It's nothing, I like giving the new kids something fun and unique. Hoku knows!"

Hoku nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't run out of gifts from visitors yet! Haven't seen any strange people in over a year, it seems like."

"Yeah...it's been pretty quiet at the hotel lately. But I'll bet you anything that we'll be seeing a visitor or two before long."

Taro had never figured that strange visitors could be predicted. "What makes you say that?"

"The weather," Kenta said, and nodded towards the distant clouds out the window. "When there's a storm hitting the Islands, that's when visitors show up. Not every time, mind you, but more often than not."

"Now _that's_ weird," Hoku commented.

Taro looked towards the horizon, wondering what this meant. Did the storms that hit the Islands affect other places, too? Drive them away from their homes and force them to travel to whatever port would take them? Or was it more than that? Either way, the idea was a little frightening.

"Well if they do show up during storms, hopefully they stay long enough to see that view on a nice day," he said, and grabbed a few nails so as to hang the mask on the wall.

"Looking good! I'd say this room is about done!" Hoku nodded to the mask.

"Just about..." Taro picked up the mobile, and hung it up above the crib. "There we go."

The bedroom was warm and flooded with light, decorated with greens and yellows. Despite its haphazard construction, it seemed inviting already. It just needed an occupant. "It looks perfect, Taro," Kenta said. "Emi'll love it."

Before Taro could reply, the sound of footsteps echoed back up the stairs...fast, almost frantic. The three men turned towards the door as Rosa burst in, looking winded.

"Rosa, you okay?..."

She looked towards Taro. "Taro...it's Emi. She got hurt."


	10. Standing on the Edge

**Islands Like Glass Towers**

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Man, it has been awhile since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? I must be a real sucker for prequel fics, because here's another one! This one just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sort of playing this fic by ear, so we'll see how it goes. I'll also admit, I've always been interested as to what Destiny Islands culture would be like.

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

* * *

Taro had been afraid many times in his life...even on a place like Destiny Islands, everyone had their fair share of fears and doubts. But Taro could not recall ever feeling as afraid as he was now, following Rosa down the road to the doctor's office, and eventually overtaking her and breaking into a run. The fear drove him forward, pressing all thoughts from his mind except to find Emi, to save Emi, to make sure that whatever happened wasn't the worst that could happen. The worst _couldn't_ happen. It just couldn't.

The homes and palm trees passed by in a blur. It seemed to take forever, but he found himself in front of the doctor's office, only to be intercepted by Doctor Cecil himself. Cecil was a thin man with long white hair...soft-spoken, but with the ability to be very firm when needed.

"Cecil...what happened to—"

"Taro, slow down. Emi is okay. Some of the kids she was supervising were roughhousing and one of them knocked her down. She's just a bit bruised."

Taro swallowed hard. The fear still wasn't going away. "W...what about..."

Cecil had that calming tone of voice he usually used with his patients, both for good and bad news. In this case, he knew just what Taro was asking about. "As far as I can tell, the baby is okay. There's a small chance of her having issues in the next few days, but I wouldn't worry."

"I need to see her," Taro blurted, trying to get past Cecil and run into the building.

"She doesn't need to stay here, Taro, it's fine." Cecil stepped aside so that he could go in, just as Rosa, Kenta and Hoku caught up. The black-haired fisherman bolted in.

He didn't have to go far...Emi was sitting in the waiting room, looking a little tired, but otherwise okay. There was, however, a large bruise forming on her right leg. She turned to him with a smile, although it seemed more relieved than anything. "Taro—"

"Emi! Are you...are you okay?" Taro stopped in front of her, but didn't touch her, as if afraid she could break.

She had the same distant, thoughtful look as the time he'd found her on the beach at night. "Oh, Taro...I'm so sorry I worried you. Yasu and Faris were playing, and Faris was just running too fast and bumped into me. You know how the kids are..."

How come every time this happened, Emi didn't seem to react as badly as he did? Why did it always seem like she was keeping something from him? He knelt down and embraced her, but gently, still afraid she could break. He felt a lump forming in his throat. "I-I was so scared..."

"Honey, it's okay," she said, hugging him back. "It was just an accident."

Despite the fact that the doctor's office wasn't a cold, sterile-feeling place, he still felt uncomfortable being here, and wanted to bring Emi home. He felt like she would be safer there, whether or not that was actually true. "We should go...unless you need help getting home, I can ask—"

"Taro, I can _walk_, I'm just a bit bruised," Emi replied, her tone quickly moving from apologetic to annoyed. As if to prove her point, she slowly got to her feet, wincing a little under the weight on her body and the pressure on her leg. Taro, not sure of what else to do, put his arm around her shoulder. She still looked annoyed, but didn't try to remove it.

Cecil, Rosa and Hoku entered just as Emi stood up. All three of them looked a lot more relieved than Taro felt. "Oh Emi, I'm glad it was just some bruising! I was worried," Rosa exclaimed.

"I'm fine, Rosa...just a little harder to get out of the way of those kids!" Emi said, then turned to Cecil. "Is it okay if I take this ice pack with me? I promise I'll bring it back."

"Of course." Cecil stepped out of the doorway so that the two of them could get by. "Now remember...please contact me _right_ away if you experience anything at all out of order. We want to make sure everything goes smoothly these last few weeks."

"I will," she replied, smiling at him.

Taro gave Hoku a look that said 'we want to be alone,' and Hoku picked up on it. "I'll uh...come get that stuff I left at your place later."

"Thanks, Hoku."

They stepped outside into the afternoon sun, where Kenta was also waiting for news. Taro gave him the same look. "Thanks for coming over, Kenta. We'll head home from here."

"Anytime. Emi, glad to see you're okay."

Taro heard him go into the office and begin questioning Doctor Cecil, but he didn't really care about what they were discussing now. He walked with Emi all the way back to their home in silence. Taro no longer felt that sense of panic and dread, but its effects still lingered. Emi focused solely on the distant sea and sky, as if she wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing now.

As soon as they reached the house, Taro led her to the nearest seat in the living room and ran to the kitchen to get her a drink. Emi said nothing until he returned. "Taro...I am sorry I frightened you."

"It's...it's okay," Taro replied, letting out a small sigh. He handed her the drink. "I'm just glad you're okay...that's the baby's okay." He hoped.

"Me too." Emi sipped sipped at the cup in her hands, and smiled. "Just a good night's sleep and I should be right as rain for the school tomorrow."

Taro stopped. Did Emi say she intended to go back to volunteer at the school? After she _just_ got injured by the kids being reckless? No, this didn't make sense. "Emi...what do you mean? You shouldn't go back there."

Emi frowned. "I need to. I'm still volunteering."

Why was she so worried about _that_? What about their baby? What about _herself_? "Emi, come on! You're not a teacher, you don't _have_ to be there. Someone else can volunteer."

"No, I said I'd be there, so it'd be rude if I didn't show up."

"That's not the point! Emi...you got lucky today. What if next time one of the kids gets out of control and _really_ hurts you?" he exclaimed.

"Taro, it's just a bruise! I need to be there to help!" Her face was growing darker by the moment.

"Then wait until after the baby is born!" Taro threw his hands into the air, pacing about the living room. "Honestly, Emi! If you're not going to worry about yourself, as _least_ think about our child!"

"I _am_ thinking about our child, Taro! Why wouldn't I be?"

Taro couldn't stop himself from raising his voice...and he _never_ raised his voice, especially to Emi. "The way you're always _out_, working too hard, disappearing in the middle of the night, brushing off getting hurt...it's not safe!"

"I'm perfectly capable of knowing what my limits are, Taro," she shot back, her voice also becoming uncharacteristically loud.

"But this is _different!_ You're not thinking straight..."

"I need to be out!"

"No you _don't!_"

"Yes _I do!_-"

Emi bolted up out of her chair as she yelled back at him...but she stood up too fast and lost her balance. Taro watched in horror as she collapsed onto her hurt leg. He didn't hesitate for an instant this time...he rushed down to her and threw his arms around her, hugging her so hard he wasn't sure he could ever let go. He felt her shudder in his arms, and choke back a sob.

"Emi..."

She hiccupped back more sobs, and Taro felt tears start to stain his shirt. "I have to...the glass tower..."

He hadn't heard about _this_ at all. Taro slowly unwrapped his arms from her, and helped smooth out her hurt leg so that she didn't put any weight on it. "Emi...what are you talking about? What tower?"

She didn't reply for a moment, but just snuffled and pushed her hair out of her face. She kept pointedly looking away from him.

"Emi...what do you mean?"

"I..." She now turned to face him. "I keep having this dream, about a glass tower, being built in the darkness." He said nothing, but didn't need to as the rest of it suddenly came spilling out in a torrent of emotion. "And it's getting larger, and I just know that I _have_ to finish it, but I don't know how, and I'm scared of what will happen when I do. But then I tell myself that it's just _dreams_, I'm crazy for listening to them. But I _feel_ it, in my heart. That I have to finish it, somehow. And I just...I don't _know_, I need to be around people! Around the kids, around my friends, close to you...I feel like, when I'm near others, everything is okay. Everything is going right. But..."

Emi burst into tears again, not even bothering to wipe them from her face. "...It just feels like there's something big building up, something bigger than me or you or all the islands, and I'm trying to catch up with it but I can't, it's spiraling out of my control, I'm just on the edge of it and I can't _see_ all of it! And...and I'm _scared_, Taro! I'm so scared..." She broke down into sobs, burying her face in her hands.

Taro didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, that it was all just her imagination, but he couldn't. He felt it, too...that same feeling as when he'd sat with Emi on the beach at four in the morning, of trying to find something, to understand something intangible and just out of reach. And it scared him, too.

He reached up and cupped his hands around her face, drawing her gaze up to his. "Emi...why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?"

She didn't answer for a moment, as if she'd been expecting him to say something different. "I didn't want to worry you. I already frightened you enough that one night, I just didn't want..." She snuffled, and wiped her face. "I thought maybe it was just nerves, that you'd think I was going crazy, and I didn't want you to think that..."

Well, if she _was_ going crazy, then he'd probably be going with her. He wrapped his arms around her again, wishing more than anything that she'd stop crying. "I'd _never_ think that, Emi," he said quietly.

She managed a small smile, leaning into his embrace as best she could. "Taro, why is this happening..."

His hand strayed down to her very pregnant stomach. Of course, both of them suspected why this was happening now...somehow, it was connected to their baby. Emi had never had strange reoccurring dreams before she'd gotten pregnant. But what this could mean, Taro didn't know.

Emi's hand moved down to cover his. "I don't know what to do, Taro. I'm afraid..."

He swallowed. "Me too."

She gave a small laugh. "At least we're on the same page now..."

"Yeah..." Taro considered this for a long moment. They _were_ both afraid...afraid of what this could mean for them, for their baby, for whatever future they had been envisioning. But still...he knew why Emi had been behaving this way now. It was no longer a feeling of her growing more distant from him, disappearing into the black ocean at four in the morning. No matter what was going to happen to them, at least they understood each other. At least they were together. They were both afraid, but...being afraid together seemed to make it easier.

"Here..." Taro slowly got to his feet, then helped up Emi. She could stand fine, but he still kept an arm around her shoulder. She sniffed, trying to get the tears off her cheeks. "See? We're...we're both okay. And so's the baby...that's what matters, right?"

Emi nodded. She looked towards the wide living room window, where the dark clouds formed a ring around the setting sun. "So...what do we do now?"

Of course, Taro didn't know exactly what they should do. But...it seemed like the one thing he _could_ do was to trust Emi. "Well...you said things seem okay when you talk to others, right?"

"I think so. I don't know why, I just...feel better around people."

He managed something like a nervous smile. "Then I guess the school would be the best place to be for you."

Emi was quiet for a second, then turned to look at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he didn't need to. Her nervous smile matched his own. "You really think so?"

"Just promise me that you'll be careful and won't go getting yourself hurt again. I don't know if my heart could take it." And this much was very true for him.

"I will," she answered, and reached down to squeeze his hand. "If you promise me that you'll...be here, with me. Until this is done."

He squeezed her hand back. "Always."

Outside, the sun touched down on the horizon, shrouded by a curtain of darkening clouds.


	11. Through the Storm

**Islands Like Glass Towers**

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary**: On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes**: Man, it has been awhile since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? I must be a real sucker for prequel fics, because here's another one! This one just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sort of playing this fic by ear, so we'll see how it goes. I'll also admit, I've always been interested as to what Destiny Islands culture would be like.

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

* * *

The clouds lingered on the horizon for a long time –two more months, to be exact- before they finally touched down on the islands as tropical rain. The Islanders turned themselves in early that night, locking their doors and closing their windows tight. The children didn't stay out to play, leaving the kids' island empty and dark. Fishing nets were pulled in, and the livestock were brought into the barns. Even before the sun had set, everyone was safely indoors, their homes in turn guarded by a shield of rain-absorbing plants and palm trees. There was nothing to do but wait out the storm.

Emi, however, didn't know how long she could last it out.

She lay in bed, listening to the drumming of the rain on the roof, trying to get comfortable but failing. It felt too warm in the bedroom, but she couldn't open a window. She wanted to switch positions and lay on her side, but even that was too difficult now.

Most of all, the baby was due in a week. Just seven short days left, and she'd be a mother. She was excited, yes...but definitely scared too.

"Nngh..." she grunted, rubbing at her belly. The baby seemed to be moving again...shifting, kicking her sometimes in places where it really hurt. This last month it seemed like the baby had been moving around a lot, and she felt every motion it made. "Quit moving around in there..." she mumbled.

"Huh? I'm sorry..." Taro replied from the other side of the bed, and moved over to give her more room. It seemed his attempts at sleep were also unsuccessful.

"Oh Taro, I didn't mean you, I meant the baby." She sighed, trying to squirm down in the covers again.

Taro snickered a bit, and turned over to face her. "Guess the baby's got even less room than I do."

"Very funny," Emi replied, keeping her eyes closed. The wind howled against the sides of the house, rattling the window panes. "I'll be glad when this storm is over."

"Me too." He slid one arm around her, and Emi accepted it gratefully. "It'll pass soon."

She didn't respond. It wasn't like Taro really knew, but it was nice to believe him. The warmth made it seem to take forever, but eventually, the rhythm of the rain put her to sleep.

* * *

That night, in the darkness of her dreams, she again found herself on top of the glass tower. And now, it was nearly done. Although she couldn't see the design on the top, she could see pieces of stained glass filling themselves in. She ran to the edge of the huge, round platform, but there was nothing below her but darkness. There was nowhere to go.

"Hello?" she called out.

_Hello!_ It was the voice again...that thought in the darkness. Except now it seemed less like just words, and more like an actual voice. She turned to find it, but it didn't seem to come from any one direction.

"Please...who are you?"

_A heart. But now I have to go._

Leave? Is this what this whole tower was building up to? "Why?"

_I've felt lots of different hearts. Now I want to see them myself._

"I don't understand." More pieces of the glass were filling in, faster now, so fast that she almost couldn't keep up with them.

_This place is too small. If I find more hearts, there'll be room. There'll be more light._

A heart...seeking more hearts. It still didn't make sense to Emi. And she didn't understand how she fit into it. "Why are you telling me this? Why am I here?"

_You are the closest heart...the first heart. You made the light._

And as the voice spoke, the last stained glass piece fell into place on top of the tower. Emi tried to see what the picture was, but the tower lit up from the inside, growing brighter and brighter until it was too strong to look into. And when she looked out into the darkness, she saw more towers...hundreds of them, maybe even thousands, all lighting up like stars in the night sky. The light intensity increased a hundredfold, until for a moment she felt surrounded by it, weightless in its encompassing luminosity.

She wasn't as afraid as she thought she'd be.

* * *

The next thing Emi became aware of was the sound of the rain on the roof. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see that it was still dark, both inside and outside. Taro was snoring softly next to her, his tousled black hair in his eyes.

Then, she became aware of the fact that there was something wet on her leg and the sheets. She pushed aside the covers, maneuvered herself so that she was sitting up, and felt down to check the source of the wetness. It didn't take her long to figure out what it was.

"Taro..." She leaned over, and began shaking her husband's shoulder. He mumbled in his sleep. "Taro!"

"Hunh?" Taro rolled over, blinking at her. "Emi?"

"Taro, I think you should call Doctor Cecil."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Cecil and Rosa both arrived, wet and windswept from the storm. Cecil carried a bag full of tools, and Rosa had a bag full of clean sheets and towels. Taro was pacing about the room, looking even more nervous than Emi. And Emi...she remained sitting on the edge of the bed, breathing as evenly as she could.

"Oh! Cecil... Thanks so much for coming over this early!" Taro sounded relieved that the doctor was here, which made her feel better...a little. "We were expecting the baby next week, but then she..."

"Don't worry you two, it happens all the time," Cecil assured them. "Here, let's make sure everyone is comfortable...especially you, Emi."

On the Islands, mothers usually gave birth at home rather than at the doctor's office. There was often more room at home, and without cars, it was easier for the doctor to come to them than for them to go to his office. Cecil and Rosa had obviously done this before, as they immediately set to work...laying out clean sheets, putting out the towels, and getting a basin full of water. "Now, Emi...you don't have to sit or lie down if you don't want to. Do whatever's comfortable for you." Cecil turned to Taro. "Now...how about you come with me and we'll make some coffee? I think we'll need some."

Taro gaped. "But...what if Emi?..."

"Taro, she's only just started...she could be in labor for hours," Cecil sighed, as if he'd heard this sort of thing before. "A little coffee won't hurt. And we'll need to get some hot water anyway."

Taro glanced between his wife and the doctor before giving him and following him downstairs. Rosa shook her head. "Cecil always does that...helps to calm the father down a bit."

"Rosa, I'm sorry to call you out here this early, I—" Emi stopped herself short, wincing as she felt another contraction. She had been expecting to have a week to prepare for this...and now that it was upon her, she didn't know if any more preparation would have helped. "...I guess I don't have much say in it, huh?"

Rosa smiled. "The baby always lets you know when they're ready."

The hours seemed to pass by in an agonizing crawl. Taro and Cecil returned with coffee, and the sun finally rose. Not that it was easy to tell...the storm persisted, keeping the sky shrouded in darkness. All the while, the contractions grew longer, harder, and more frequent. They started out simple enough, but eventually they began to hurt.

She stood for awhile, wanting to feel like she was at least being active, but eventually just turned to lay down on the bed. Every contraction seemed to drag out her labor longer, harder, make the end of it seem further away rather than closer. She tried to keep conversation with the others in the room, but that also started to become difficult. By the time the sun began to set again, Emi had completely lost track of the time...she was fully in labor now, focused on pushing, on breathing through the continuous waves of pain.

Taro was pacing back and forth by the bed, just as he'd been doing most of the day. Coffee and other hot drinks had helped him, but it was obvious how nervous he was. "Emi, is there anything else I can..."

"Just...stay here," Emi said slowly. "Stay by me."

"You're doing fine, Emi," Cecil assured her. "Just keep taking deep breaths."

"Okay..."

She tried her best just to focus on each breath...in and out, in and out, like her pounding heart. She was okay. Taro was there, the doctor was coaching her, she was safe in their home...it would be okay. Another wave of pain swept over her, making her whimper.

Breathe in, breathe out. It seemed like all sound around her was mushing together, drowned out by the feelings overwhelming her. She heard Cecil's patient instructions, but it was all just a series of words in the background. She heard Taro encouraging her, but more than that she felt his hand gripping hers. The rain became so quiet that it seemed to have stopped completely.

Keep breathing...had to keep breathing. This is what months of strange dreams, uncertainty and preparation had been building up to. She'd see it through. She _had_ to, for the sake of this new life she and Taro had made.

Outside, there suddenly came a brilliant flash of light, as if lightning had struck. No one noticed that there was no thunder following it.

Another contraction, only this one brought with it a ripping, burning sensation that caused her to cry out. She gripped hard onto Taro's hand, tears stinging at her eyes. "Aahhh!..."

"Okay Emi, you're almost done, the head's showing now," Cecil said. "You're doing fine, just keep pushing."

She did so, gasping, crying out with every jolt of pain that shot through her. Time seemed to slow to a stop...the world closed in on itself. The pain dulled out everything except her breathing, and the feeling of Taro's fingers around her own. In her minds eye she saw lights that could have been like stars, like a thousand glass towers.

The next thing she became aware of was the sound of a baby crying.

She leaned forward, struggling to see what they were doing, but her eyes were still clouded with tears. She saw the doctor cut through the cord and tie a clamp onto it, then saw Rosa helping to towel off the little crying bundle.

"Emi, you did it!" Taro exclaimed, his words overflowing with relief and happiness. "Look, you really did it!"

She only managed to gasp back "I know," in a voice that said she almost didn't believe it herself.

Doctor Cecil finished wrapping up the baby in clean blankets, and stood up with a glad smile, cradling it in his arms. "Congratulations, Emi and Taro...you have a very healthy little boy."

A smile broke out across her face, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. She still hurt all over, but she barely even noticed it now. The doctor walked over and handed her the baby, and she carefully pulled him into her arms. Even having seen several newborns before, it felt like an entirely new experience, seeing and hearing and holding _their_ child. He seemed so tiny, with a couple tufts of brown hair and grasping hands...still crying, but he started to quiet down as she held him close.

Taro learned over her, and reached a hand out to gingerly touch the newborn's head. His voice was quiet, filled with a kind of unnatural wonder. "Look at him, he's...he's perfect."

"He is," she said, grinning wide. All that buildup of fear and uncertainty didn't seem to be that important now, not while holding this tiny new life. "He is."

While they weren't done yet completely, Cecil and Rosa at least started to clean up a bit. "So Emi, what are you going to—"

They were interrupted by a sudden pounding on the front door. Whoever was knocking didn't wait for an answer...they burst in and came up the stairs, meeting Cecil halfway. Emi couldn't see them from the bed, but she recognized Hoku's voice.

"Doctor Cecil! They said you were over here...we've found a strange boy, on the kids' island. He looks extremely ill!"

Cecil's tone instantly changed from calm and happy to stern and authoritative. "Bring him to the downstairs couch, and I'll see what's wrong with him."

Emi and Taro glanced towards each other in concern...a stranger, found on the kids' island, and sick? It was clear from the way Hoku was speaking that he was serious. Taro started to follow the doctor out. "Maybe I should..."

"Don't worry Taro, I'll take care of it," Cecil commanded him. "You can stay with Emi." With that, he hurried to the downstairs living room with Hoku. They heard a bit of thumping and muffled voices as the aforementioned boy was brought in. Taro hesitated a moment, then sat down on the edge of the bed beside Emi.

"You sure picked a wild time to arrive, didn't you?" he said with affection, stroking the newborn's head.

Emi smiled down at him. The baby had stopped crying by now, and just looked very sleepy, obviously just as exhausted by the last few hours as Emi was. "I'm sure it was just the right time for him."

"So what should we name him?" Taro asked.

Emi thought for a little bit...she'd been pondering names for a long time, and now with him here, she could finally settle on one that felt right. "Sora," she said, the name making her smile a little more. "Let's name him Sora."

Taro thought over this too, but it didn't take long for that right feeling to get to him, too. "...I like it! That's you..." He gazed down at their child with a look of complete paternal pride. "You're Sora."

Sora finally opened his eyes, showing them to be a bright blue, and yawned. He curled up inside Emi's arms and drifted off to sleep with a contented smile, as if he knew that everything would be okay now.


	12. A World Made Bigger

Islands Like Glass Towers

**By Lynx (of Organization VI)**

**Rating:** K

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue. While there are original characters in this story, I don't make any large claims to them. If you'd like to use them, just ask.

**Summary:** On a world made for children, sometimes the hardest thing to do is be a parent. A story about Sora and Riku's parents on Destiny Islands.

**Notes:** Man, it has been awhile since I've posted anything here, hasn't it? I must be a real sucker for prequel fics, because here's another one! This one just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sort of playing this fic by ear, so we'll see how it goes. I'll also admit, I've always been interested as to what Destiny Islands culture would be like.

Beware of some BBS spoilers! That in mind, also be aware that I'm trying to AVOID any more spoilers. Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS in comments!

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Several days later, and the skies were clear of stormclouds and rain. The sun once again washed over the islands, bringing with it gentle ocean breezes and a constant, comforting warmth. The children returned to the play islands after school hours. And Taro returned to work...although now, things felt different.

And coming back from there now, he saw a small congregation of friends out on his doorstep, enjoying the nicer weather before winter hit for good. Emi sat out on the porch with the baby in her arms, talking to Kenta, Hoku and Lana, with little Riku in tow. Taro waved to them, shifting his bag over his shoulder.

"And here's the new father himself," Hoku said, waving back.

"Glad to see the title's caught on so fast," Taro joked back. Emi smiled up at him as he approached, cradling little Sora. Ever since he'd been born, Taro had once again been able to read Emi's expressions...she was still tired, and he felt the heavy hand of post-partum depression over her, but underneath it all he knew she was happy.

"He's really so adorable," Lana cooed...not the first time she'd said so about Sora, and it probably wouldn't be the last. "He's going to grow up to be so cute, I'm sure!"

"One thing at a time...I'm just glad he's here," Emi replied, her expression soft.

It was just as Taro had expected...new arrivals to the Islands always got a lot of attention. It was just strange being on the receiving end of that attention, especially after all they'd been through. A thought occurred to him, and he turned to Hoku. "Say, Hoku...the strange boy, the one they found on the kids' island when Sora was born...I didn't find out what happened to him."

While the question had been asked of Hoku, Kenta answered instead. "Afraid he's gone now."

"Gone?" Taro raised his eyebrows in concern.

"He was okay by the time Doctor Cecil brought him over to the hotel...doctor said he started to improve as soon as Hoku brought him indoors." Kenta shrugged. "Guess he just needed to get in out of the wind."

"But he's not here anymore?" The whole thing seemed a little strange.

Kenta shook his head. "Nope. I let him stay in one of the rooms for the night...he was walking and talking by then. But by morning, he was gone." He nodded out towards the horizon, as if that explained everything. "Visitors never do stay long."

"So strange...didn't say who he was or anything?" Hoku asked.

"I never got his name. Maybe Cecil did. He didn't talk that much anyway...poor kid was still recovering."

"Oh, I hope the boy's okay," Lana sighed, keeping her sights on Riku, who was now wandering around the garden. He toddled up to Emi, and craned his head to look closer at the baby she was holding. Sora sneezed, and Riku backed up a step and looked up to Emi as if she could explain this strange new person.

Emi smiled back at the toddler. "His name is Sora. Can you say hi, Riku?"

Riku looked back down at the little squishy bundle, thought for a moment, then gave back a quiet "Hi."

"Yes, very good job, Riku!" Lana praised her son with all that parental pride that Taro now was beginning to understand. He felt it swell again in his heart as Sora smiled back.

"I guess we'd better get going...great to see that you three are doing well," Hoku said.

"I'm sure! I told you you'd be a natural at this, Emi!" Lana said. She beckoned to her own son. "Come on Riku, it's time to go! We'll come back and visit Emi and Sora tomorrow."

Riku looked disappointed, but trudged back to his mother anyway. "Hi," he called back to Sora, waving as he did. Obviously he hadn't learned how to say goodbye yet. The three walked back out the gate...Hoku gave Taro an encouraging smile. He didn't need to say anything...Taro understood what he meant. There was a quiet comradery, a sense of congratulations, and the reminder of a friendship that had lasted long, but had changed a lot. They were both fathers now. This world had become a different place.

"Guess I'll be off as well," Kenta said as Hoku, Lana and Riku walked back across the street. "Congratulations again, you two."

The couple waved as Kenta also went his own way. Emi stood up carefully, cradling Sora in one arm as she did so. "Welcome home, honey."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, it looks like this little guy wants a nap."

"Sounds good...I want a shower." She followed him back into the house, where Taro found the couch and collapsed onto it. Emi sat beside down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Sora fussed a little.

"I'll just...get up in a second," Emi sighed.

"Me too." It seemed they were both more tired than they first realized.

There was a long pause between them, as if they'd been covered with a warm but heavy blanket of exhaustion. The baby continued to fuss for some attention.

"Taro..." Emi hesitated, gazing toward the ceiling in thought. "What do you think it was...that glass tower?"

"I don't know..." Taro sighed. Truth be told, he hoped that she wouldn't dream about it again...that they could perhaps get some relief from those cryptic visions. "Maybe we're not supposed to know."

Emi turned her eyes back down to Sora, stroking his face. He tried to grasp onto her finger with one of his tiny hands. "I can't help feeling like...it's a little like the paopu fruit. Like it's fate."

"Fate?" Taro repeated, his voice quiet.

"Yes. Something big, something that we can only see a part of, but can't really understand how it all fits together." She hugged Sora tighter, letting out a small laugh. "Maybe only he knows it."

Taro felt his stomach coil at the thought of fate...at least at the thought of fate affecting _their_ child. He still seemed so tiny and helpless. "Just...as long as it _is_ like the paopu fruit legend. As long as it brings him happiness."

"He's brought us happiness...I think it'll come back to him too, Taro."

"I hope so," Taro sighed. Emi scooted closer to him until they were touching, leaned over and gave him a solid kiss on the cheek. She then passed the baby over into his arms, carefully so that they both had a good grip.

Emi stood up and stretched, yawning, then turned back to him. "Love you, Taro."

He watched her walk off to the shower, then turned his attention back to the child in his arms. He still felt so tiny and helpless. And yet, he looked up at him with wide, curious eyes, and looking back into them, Taro felt he suddenly understood something. In those eyes, he could see a world of endless possibilities...people, places, experiences, reaching above and beyond the scope of the Islands, to things he couldn't begin to imagine. They were things both wonderful and horrible, exciting and terrifying, but somehow they all belonged to this child. He felt like he was standing on the edge of an island looking out at that endless black ocean, afraid of what lay beyond it, and in Sora's eyes he saw the will to go beyond that ocean and past the horizon. It made _him_ feel like the tiny and helpless one.

_Maybe it's like fate..._

He hugged the newborn close to him, as if having his son as close as possible would help him to understand, help him not to be afraid. This was _their_ child, their son, and as much as he wanted to protect him from everything unknown, everything distant on the horizon, a part of his heart deep inside him knew he couldn't.

He felt tears sting at his eyes as Sora gave small sounds...tears of relief, of fear, but mostly of love. There was only one thing he could ask of their son.

"Please...make my world bigger."

* * *

THE END

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And that's the end of this fic! Of course, I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone that's read and reviewed! Your comments totally make my day, and I hope you enjoyed it! Maybe I'll do something with Taro and Emi and others in the future, but for now, this story is done.


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